Veteran campaigner M. Sasidaran and amateurs Farez Azihan and Zia Iqmal Abdul Rashid earned their places in the 2026 PKNS Selangor Masters as the top three finishers in the 36-hole Qualifying Tournament, played on January 27-28 at Seri Selangor Golf Club.
Sasidaran showed he is still one of the countryâs best ball-strikers at age 49, carding rounds of 72 and 76 for a four-over-par total of 148 on the tight and challenging Seri Selangor layout. He finished tied at the top of the leaderboard with Farez (74, 74), with Zia a shot back in third place (75, 74).
The trio will join a strong field at the US$175,000 Asian Development Tour (ADT) season-opener on February 11-14, which will consist of 80 ADT players, 40 from the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Tour, and 24 invitees.
Notably, Sasidaran will be making his eleventh start in the tournament, having played in every edition except 2025. His best finish was a tie for ninth at the inaugural 2007 edition when it was a local tour event. He also tied for 24th in 2022 at Seri Selangor and was tied for 27th in 2011 at Kota Permai.
Having stepped back from competitive golf in 2025 and missing last yearâs event, Sasidaran is looking forward to his return.
âI didnât play many tournaments last year because I was focusing on coaching and running three driving ranges. Iâm really happy to have qualified for this yearâs PKNS Selangor Masters, an event which is close to my heart. I played well this week, and Iâm also very familiar with the Seri Selangor layout, so that âlocalâ knowledge helped a lot,â said Sasidaran, who turns 50 on October 25.
Farez, who is pursuing a golf management degree at Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), is looking forward to making his second start at the PKNS Selangor Masters. The 25-year-old played in last yearâs event on an invitation extended to UUM players, but missed the cut.
âMy putting has been working well, which gave me a lot of confidence on the greens. Iâm very grateful for the opportunity to compete in my second PKNS Selangor Masters. My target is to finish as the best amateur in the tournament,â said Farez.
Zia, who is also pursuing the same degree at UUM and will graduate in September, will be playing in his third PKNS Selangor Masters. After missing the cut in 2023 and 2024 when he got in as one of the Malaysian national team invitees, he aims to do much better this time â especially since it will be his first start as a professional.
âThis yearâs PKNS Selangor Masters will be different for me as it will be my first event as a professional, and Iâm really excited about it. My plan for this year is to play in all PGM Tour events and try to secure an All-Thailand Tour card by yearâs end,â said the 27-year-old.
A total of 36 players including 19 amateurs took part in the qualifier, which was staged concurrently with the first two rounds of the 54-hole PGM Tour Qualifying School.
